Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
Album: Dedication
Label: Gearle
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.staceyandmark.com

"Dedication" is the latest album by Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart. Stacey [who is the sister of Texan Troubador Steve Earle] and Mark have been playing together for 20 years and have been married for 18 years. Mark is a native of Nashville and the couple live in Ashland City, in Cheatham County, Tennessee. Both are talented singer songwriters and share the writing credits on this album. Of the 10 songs and one instrumental , Stacey wrote 6 and Mark wrote 4 and one was co- written.

Starting first with Mark's songs, a recurring theme is the life of a travelling musician . In the title song, "Dedication", he tells, with heartfelt vocals, how he "Goes out night after night and I wonder if I'm treating myself right". A similar theme is explored in "Little Rock ", which is a catchy, radio-friendly song which lists the places he has played and the list is "never-ending". This is clearly written from experience as he and Stacey are currently undertaking a tour of Britain and Europe and are playing 50 dates in 60 days [and they are travelling by public transport].

I was lucky enough to see them live recently when they played in Formby near Liverpool. Coincidentally, Mark is a big Beatles fan and his song "Broken Heart For You" is his tribute to the Fab Four .It sounds like nothing less than a lost McCartney song, complete with staccato piano and a very George Harrison-like slide guitar solo by Mark. Excellent stuff.

The remaining song of Mark's is a bluesy number called "Workin' On It " which features more of his distinctive slide guitar and vocals that are not unlike those of the late, great Levon Helm of The Band.

Stacey's six songs demonstrate that she is a greater songwriter, a gift that she shares with her brother Steve. Her first two songs form a mini-suite .The first, "Here Comes The Pain" is a piano ballad with mournful vocals by Stacey [and some tasty slide from Mark] which glides effortlessly into "Here Comes The Rain", an altogether more optimistic song about seeing the bright side of life even if it's raining [ " Oh well, it looks like the weather's in for a change, grab your umbrella to protect you from the rain"].

Stacey's "If You Change Your Mind " is a classic cheatin' country song which received a great reception when I saw them play live. The song has all the makings of a vintage country hit, with lyrics like " She's at home waiting alone but she knows where you've been". The following song "The Flag" is totally different but equally brilliant and is, perhaps, the standout track on the album. It is a semi-spoken soliloquy by a mother who is mourning her soldier son, who has been killed in action. It traces the relationship between mother and son, from the time of his birth through to his death and is extremely moving. It was also the highlight of the live show when Stacey sang it unplugged, right in the middle of the audience. On the album, Stacey is accompanied by Michael Webb on accordion.

Yet another great Stacey-song is the piano based "For a Long Time". Again, it is a sharply observed song, this time about a former lover who is throwing away those possessions which remind her of her ex "But there are some things you can't put down, like the way I love you sounds, I carried it around for a long time".

I've Been Wrong, I've Been Right " was co-written by Stacey and Mark and recreates the style of the Brill Building songwriters [like Goffin and King] and comes complete with '60's girl group-sounding backing vocals.

The album's closing track is a short instrumental written by Stacey called "A Great Day To Fly" which features her on ukelele and Mark on acoustic guitar.

There is also a bonus track in the form of a Radio Version of "Little Rock".

As you can probably tell, I like this album alot and the strength of the songwriting seems to grow with every listen. Recommended.

Peter Cowley